Note that turmeric is not bioavailable and you won’t be getting the benefits of curcumin when taking turmeric, although you might be getting other benefits. You need to take a bioavailable form of Curcumin (or Curcumin).

Introduction to Curcumin

Turmeric (Curcuma Longa), most commonly known as the spice found in Curry, is not only known for its flavor, but its innumerable health benefits.

Turmeric contains several major constituents known as Curcuminoids which typically make up about 3% of its weight in commercially available preparations (R).

Curcumin is known to be the most active phytochemical of the four curcuminoids found in turmeric. Curcumin makes up 77% of the curcuminoids(R). The remaining three constituents typically come in at 17% desmethoxycurcumin, 3% bisdemethoxycurcumin, and the remaining, a fourth more recently identified curcuminoid, Cyclocurcumin(R).

20) Curcumin is Anti-aging

Age-related diseases (Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis, metabolic disorders, etc.) are caused in large part by chronic low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress (ROS). This leads to molecular damage and DNA replication errors.

Curcumin is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. It inhibits release of cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha) that are responsible for the inflammation. Aging slows when inflammation is reduced (R).

21-22) Curcumin is an Antioxidant and an Anti-inflammatory

Curcumin is an oxygen radical scavenger. It acts as an antioxidant through increasing glutathione levels, and as an anti-inflammatory agent through inhibition of IL-8 (in lung cells) (R).

Curcumin inhibits enzymes which are responsible for mediating inflammation (R).

Curcumin binds to iron, which is one mechanism by which it combats free radicals

In rats exposed to TCDD dioxin (found in Agent Orange), curcumin was shown to increase SOD activities of the liver, kidneyand brain, catalase (CAT) activity of the heart, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the heart and brain(R).

26) Curcumin Helps Joint Problems

Curcumin may regenerate cartilage and was preferred by patients over analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs (R).

Curcumin reduces symptoms of osteoarthritis(R). A three-month treatment of 200mg/day of the curcumin-phosphatidylcholine complex decreased pain scores by 58% and increased walking distance by over 400% in osteoarthritis (R).

The combination of curcumin and quercetinappears to reduce the number and size of ileal and rectal adenomas which typically lead to cancer in FAP(Familial adenomatous polyposis) (R).

Leukemia

Curcumin is effective against leukemia, with no danger to normal cells (R). Curcumin combined with the green tea extract, EGCG(epigallocatechin-3-gallate), promotes cell death in chronic lymphocytic leukemia(R).

Lung Cancer

In Lung cells, curcumin acts as an oxygen radical scavenger, an antioxidant (through modulation of glutathione levels), and an anti-inflammatory agent through inhibition of IL-8(R).

Curcumin has been shown to activate programmed cell death(R), as well as inhibit lung cancer growth, through mitochondrial pathways (R, R2, R3).

Curcumin works against lung cancer cells by stopping the cell cycle(R). Curcumin also promotes programmed cell death in human lung cancer with multi-drug resistance (R).

Dietary curcumin at 5% concentration decreases radiation-induced lung fibrosis while not lessening the effectiveness of the radiation against tumor cells. It also significantly improved survival in mouse studies.

Prostate cancer

Of seven tested phytoestrogens, curcumin was found to be the most potent inhibitor of cancer cell growth while also inducing cell death in humanprostate tumor cells (R), through mitochondrial cancer cell damage.

Safety and Dosage

Curcumin has been found to be safe to consume without side effects up to 10g/day (R).

I recommend ingesting 1-2g in the morning, upon awakening.

Potential Risks and Side Effects

In High Dose In-Vitro Models, Curcumin Can Cause Cytotoxicity and DNA Damage

At low doses (as shown in many studies above) it acts as a potent antioxidant, scavenging ROS. At high doses it is suggested that it may actually induce ROS, leading to DNA damage (R).

Many of the concerns regarding curcumin toxicity are addressed in this letter (R).

As a quick summation of the article, although worth the read, the first issue addressed is that many of these studies are done in-vitro. Meaning done in a test tube, outside of a living breathing organism.

With curcumin being extensively metabolized in the intestine (R), raising blood plasma levels by oral consumption to meet levels administered in the lab test tubes, at this point in time have not been achieved in the body (in vivo). It is also important to note that many studies (also included above) have already shown consumption of 10g/day (that’s a lot) with no negative side effects (R, R2).

Additionally, to obtain higher levels of solubility, Curcumin was dissolved using ethanol as a solvent. Against controls, it is unclear if the toxicity and damage to the DNA is due to the curcumin, ethanol, or curcumin+ethanol.

The authors write ‘The DNA damage described by Goodpasture and Arrighi, and others, therefore, cannot be possibly due to the binding of curcumin to DNA or its intercalation into DNA‘ (R).

But they do express the interest to see the effect high levels of curcumin on DNA would be if solubilized in water + heat as opposed to curcumin + organic solvents.

Curcumin may inhibit enzymes involved in the final step of testosterone synthesis. This could potentially lead to a reduction in testosterone levels. However, the significance of this effect is unclear (R).

Parkinson’s Disease

In vitro, curcumin increases LRRK2 mRNA and protein. LRRK2 is a gene whose expression has been positively associated with Parkinson’s disease. This could, in theory, lead to increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. However, this study suggests this is only one factor of many, including age and genetic predisposition (R).

Synergies

Adding piperine (from black pepper) increases the absorption of curcumin in the blood by 2000% (R).

Health benefits of curcumin: The compound C 21 H 20 O 6, a major active ingredient in turmeric and thought to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties with associated health benefits